Benefits Of Warehouse Automation

Among the many ways to improve the functioning of the warehouse – automation, an option that has a huge positive potential for the company, but the benefits of which are often underestimated.

Today, the key to mutually beneficial cooperation with the networks is not only the name-brand, product quality and price, but also the clear activity of the enterprise in terms of warehouse and transport logistics. For example, short supply, delivery of the product with the incorrect expiration date are penalized or not accepted at all, which brings additional serious financial losses.

Many factors, including new competitors, overproduction across the industry, increasingly demanding buyers, are putting strong pressure on retailers to operate more productively, at lower costs, introducing innovative technologies and growing faster. In such a climate, retailers are increasingly seeking to extract competitive advantages from wherever possible.

Warehouse automation through the introduction of a warehouse logistics management system is one of the most effective and correct ways to reduce the costs connected with the human factor and incorrectly built chain of moving storage facilities of the enterprise as a whole.

Warehouse automation can be a basis for competitive advantage and a surprisingly useful tool with which the company can cope with the emerging problems, primarily associated with the mass of supplies.

Automation of warehouse management can be carried out by managers of every level, as WMS system supports differentiation by authority. Automation product supply adjusted under every categories and subcategory of products. Automation of accounting of goods in the warehouse is set up for any organization by

Warehouse and logistics automation

Warehouse and logistics often require no less concentration of attention and efforts of managers and owners of the enterprise than, for example, the work of the main office or marketing department. In a competitive environment, each organization must carefully analyze and plan all its costs, to establish the effectiveness of even only internal processes, to build competent relationships with all contractors.

Most retailers are well aware of the possibility of reducing internal costs associated with warehouse operations by automating processes such as product reservation, shipment, sorting, storage and transportation.

Automation of warehouse and logistics is one of the best ways to simplify, speed up and make more efficient every business operation related to warehouse and logistics of a particular enterprise.

There are many erroneous definitions of the term "WMS", such as: "WMS – a warehouse management system." In fact, it is not so. WMS is just a tool, a program with which you can automate some warehouse business processes. That is, it is just one of many units, parts, a "Automator", which is included in the overall warehouse management system, along with other units, for example: the control unit of warehouse personnel, the control unit of the quality of goods in the warehouse, the unit to maintain the smooth operation of warehouse equipment – and, by no means, the system itself.

With WMS, you can automate some of the business processes in your warehouse. But before you automate something, it's something, at least you must first describe, and as a maximum, it is necessary to describe it correctly. Thus, it is important to describe business processes correctly, and the choice of tools for their automation is secondary. Because the tool is selected under the technology, and in any case should not be the opposite.

Areas of WMS solutions application

WMS automated warehouse management information system is used in a wide range of business sectors. This solution is effective in trade, including networks with remote warehouses, in the provision of warehouse services in the form of outsourcing, 3PL, FMCG manufacturers and any other production. WMS programs are also used for automation of enterprises specializing in the production of food products, mass demand goods, industrial goods. WMS automation and optimization systems are productive in warehouse management in archive storage, in any activities related to the reception, accounting, placement of large amounts of storage. In general, the implementation of the accounting system at the enterprise (WMS) is advisable in all areas where it is necessary to store, record and move storage units.

Advantages of warehouse automation

The potential reduction of internal costs — usually comes to mind in the first place, when the heads of retail outlets think about the benefits of warehouse automation, but it is not the only value. Warehouse automation can also become a major improvement in the wider supply chain and, even more significantly, making it possible to implement previously impossible and even unimaginable strategic options and gain strategic benefits.

One of the main advantages of warehouse automation is the reduction of the cycle time for receiving goods to the warehouse and then – from the warehouse. By accelerating the processes of queuing, order definition, shipment of goods, transportation, automation can significantly reduce the time from order to delivery.

Reduction of "response time", in turn, reduces inventory, minimizes the percentage of losses, respectively, can increase customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Automation helps:

Track the quantity of goods in stock;

Keep track of available goods and products reserved for the order, manage reserves;

Track the dynamics of orders of a particular counterparty;

Distribute goods to outlets based on needs;

Promptly keep records of goods in retail outlets;

Get quick access to information on stock balances;

To monitor the status of the order;

Analyze performance and plan future actions;

Monitor and analyze the company's performance targets;

Reducing the cost of internal operations with warehouse automation may seem obvious enough, but estimating this potential cost reduction is much more difficult than it might seem.
One of the reasons for this is the huge difference between the investment costs of automation depending on the complexity and scope of warehouse operations.

In order to properly and adequately assess the cost-benefit ratio of such investments, managers must take into account a fairly wide range of factors.
Even the standard," ready " warehouse automation models include the accounting of several dozens of input data factors.

Unsuccessful automation and wrong, inefficient warehouse and logistics management can lead to significant losses – both money and time – and even loss of key customers. That is why warehouse and logistics are one of the most dynamically developing and promising areas in terms of the use of information technology, which is rarely given proper attention.

What problems may be solved with automation of warehouse accounting

Chaos in the warehouse and the inability to make a correct order.
When taking orders, the priority of orders is not understood, a lot of time is spent to find the right goods, it is impossible to complete a batch of goods on time. There is no actual information about the product balances, and therefore it is impossible to replenish stocks.

Dependency on warehouse employee.
A certain employee of the warehouse knows where and how much is in the warehouse, the sequence of orders. In case of his absence/dismissal, a lot of time is needed for restoration of normal work of a warehouse.

Overdue deliveries, downtime, underloads.
There is no system of priorities and management of the unloading/loading queue. And that means dissatisfied customers, low loyalty.

Inefficient placement of goods in the warehouse.
Constant lack of space due to the inability to rationally assess the size, storage conditions, inventory.

Non-compliance with storage conditions, damage to goods, write-off at a loss.
Disruptions of delivery time, deterioration of relations with partners.

Stopping the warehouse for inventory.
Without warehouse automation, you must stop the warehouse for inventory that leads to higher level of shortages of some goods and surpluses of unsaleables.

Programs for warehouse management – modern solutions that can be configured or customized individually to meet the needs and wishes of a particular client.

Now is the time to carry out automation, because a large number of factors, including the cost of automation, makes it much more accessible than before.

Our company offers full-featured solutions for automation of warehouse management of every format, size and complexity in the form of development of software solutions with subsequent services of implementation and maintenance.

Warehouse automation is an important point in improving Your business!